Star Gazing
by FreckledWriter
Summary: Season 2 Tom returns from the spaceship. How does Maggie feel about star gazing in the new world? Tom/Maggie Could be considered Alternate Universe but holds close to cannon.


Author: FreckledWriter

Rating: K+

Pairing: Tom/Maggie

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything that is Falling Skies.

Summary: What if Tom hadn't fallen in love with Anne, but with Maggie?

Note: I am shocked at the lack of love stories for Tom, so I'm going to create some. This is set in Season 2, but inspired by one of Ben's lines in Season 3. (When he asks Denny which star she thinks 'they' came from.)

**Maggie was sitting on top of the hood of a truck looking out into the night.** The evening had come and things were quiet, but she was too wound up to go to sleep. The thing that she had hoped against hope for, the thing she had finally given up on, had been carried back into camp. Poor Ben, would he ever get over shooting his Dad? Thankfully Dr. Glass had gotten all of the fragments of the bullet out, and thank God the Mechs had passed them by. She had actually shook while waiting for the Mechs to leave that night, knowing that Tom might die if they were found.

She prayed that Tom would understand why she had given up hope. After a week she had let her logical mind tell her heart that there was no way Tom could still be alive. She had never dreamed that he could have gotten dumped in some field in Michigan. How could she have known he was walking back to them, across half the country? It was luck that he had found that bike, and someone to keep him company.

She heard footsteps and turned. She was getting ready to tell which ever boy it was, to go away, she just wanted to be alone. But to her surprise it was Tom. "You should be resting, you're not well yet."

He smiled a tired smile. "I'm alright. I wanted to get out of bed for a minute and get some fresh air."

Maggie nodded and turned back around. Tom walked up beside her and stopped, leaning against the front of the truck, next to her leg. They sat in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing how to start the conversation. They hadn't really had a chance to talk yet. Maggie had let the boys have some time with their dad. They had missed him greatly and there was a lot to fill him in on. Maggie had managed to whisper, "I'm glad you're back." before the emotions overwhelmed her. She had tried not to let anyone but the boys see her cry.

No one knew that Tom and Maggie had been stealing time, and sneaking off to have private moments. It was no one's business. Tom had been nervous about his boys knowing he was starting to care for another woman. Maggie knew that not everyone trusted her yet, and therefore would question Tom's leadership if they knew how he felt. They had tried to keep things light, but had found that they had a lot in common. She made Tom laugh, and she made him feel safe. He could tell her anything without fear of judgment. He often bounced ideas off of her before he took them to Captain Weaver.

"Looking at the stars, huh? They're beautiful tonight."

Maggie turned to him with a disgusted look on her face. "What? They're beautiful? How can you even say that? Those horrible things came from one of those stars."

Tom stared at her in shocked silence. He hadn't realized that she was upset. He thought for a moment, trying to weigh his words before he spoke again. Maggie shook her head and said,

"I have been cursing those stars every day for three months, Tom. Wondering if you were up there, or if you were in a camp somewhere on Earth or... Now that we know that there is other life out there, and we know how awful they are, those stars aren't beautiful anymore."

She was fighting back tears. He didn't want to see her cry but he didn't know what to say. So he just put his hand on her forearm and slowly slid it down to rest on top of her hand. She shuddered and took a deep breath, fighting the anger, the fear, warm feeling rising in her heart.

Tom said, "They don't own those stars. Right now, they are running this planet, but they don't run the whole universe. And one day, one day Maggie, we're going to take back this planet. Don't let them make you cold and angry. Don't let them take any more things than they already have."

Maggie sobbed and laid her head on Tom's shoulder. "I missed you so much. I didn't know I would miss you that much! It was just so lonely without you. I tried my best to take care of your boys, and keep them safe when we went out on missions. It wasn't easy but I brought them home safe every time. It was really hard, actually. I don't know how you've been doing this for so many years."

"Because I had to. Because they are our future. Also, they are stronger than you think. I'm proud of how well my boys have been doing. Weaver is proud of them, and isn't afraid to send them on dangerous missions. That makes me nervous, but it also tells me that they are strong and capable."

"They are good boys. You should see the way they stick up for each other. They have had my back these last three months, as much as I've had theirs." Maggie was nodding as she spoke.

Tom smiled and cupped Maggie's face in his hands. "I'm proud of all of you. We are going to start having dinner together at night. All of us. We are going to get to know each other even better."

He stopped to kiss her. Maggie pulled back to wipe the tears from her face and take a breath. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yes. My love for my boys kept me going, got me back here. But my love for you kept me warm at night. I thought about you every day too."

Maggie smiled, a good smile, for the first time in a long time. Tom was back. Everything was going to be better from here on out.


End file.
